Local History
Pathfinder
Last Updated:December 2012

Scope: Guide to materials relating to the history of Rochester and the local area available in the PHS library, through subscription databases, and through previewed free websites.

Keywords: Your topic as your keyword. To narrow your search to a specific aspect, use Boolean search strategies.Examples of Boolean searching:
Rochester AND Civil War
Susan B. Anthony OR Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Rochester NOT Minnesota

Click here for help developing search terms.

Print Resources: Use the Library Catalog to locate print resources in the PHS Library
Library Catalog (Check the cart marked “Mrs. Shortino – Local History” first.)

Electronic Resources


Subscription Databases: See library staff for user names and passwords.
  • American History Online: Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, highlighting the important people and events of the American experience.
  • Biography Resource Center: This database integrates biographies from Gale Group sources with related full-text articles from hundreds of
    periodicals, as well as tens of thousands of images and links to hand-picked web sites.
  • Business and Company ASAP: Providing researchers with information on companies, markets and industries. From market trends, mergers and acquisitions to current management theory and company overviews. Access business and trade journals, newspapers and company directory profiles with full text and images.
  • Business and Company Resource Center: Business and Company Resource Center is a fully integrated resource bringing together company profiles, brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies and periodicals. Search this database to find detailed company and industry news and information.
  • Newsbank: Link to Democrat & Chronicle: Electronic index to local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers.The D&C is indexed with full text back to 1999. Columnist Bob Marcotte frequently has articles about various aspects of Rochester history.Do an “author/byline” search with his name to browse his articles.

Free Websites: These websites have been reviewed for Authority, Accuracy, Currency, and Objectivity.If you use other free websites, be sure you evaluate them. Click here for guidance on evaluating websites.

·American Memory: American Memory provides free access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America.

·MCLS: The Monroe County Library System consists of all the public libraries in Monroe County.The MCLS has an extensive local history collection:


·Penfield History Links –

·Landmark Society of Western New York: Resources relating to the architectural history of Rochester and western New York.

·Rochester’s History: An Illustrated Timeline: Featuring early photos, drawings, maps, biographies, in depth studies of sidebar topics, and even walking tours. Compiled by Alan Ladd, a local antique postcard collector. Click here for an article describing the development of his websites.

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RocWiki: This site, like all wikis, is collective website, meaning that anyone who accesses it can contribute to it. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia. (Think about the criteria for using free websites when using a wiki.) **